On June 11, 2012, at 10 a.m. in the Goliad County Commissioners Court Room, the Goliad County Commissioners will hold a public hearing to designate 381.21 acres on West Airport Base Road, as a Reinvestment Zone in Goliad County.

This is the first offical step to allow DCP Midstream to receive tax abatements on a $100 Million gas plant that the company plans to build at this location. A portion of this plant could be designated Environmentaly Free of taxes by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, (TCEQ).

Assuming that $75 Million would be the taxable improvements constructed by DCP, the first year's tax abatement at the present tax rate is $328,913. DCP has asked for a 70% tax abatement each year for ten years. A gas plant is typically depreciated over a twenty-year period. Not allowing for depreciation each year, but reducing the amount of the abatement by 10% each year, the total amount of taxes abated would be $2,142,279. All this calculation is based on the values and tax rate currently in effect. There is no guarantee that DCP will build the $100 Million plant nor that it would stay in operation for ten years. At the end of the ten-year period, the taxes would then be based on the depreciated value of the improvements. The approximately $950,000 they paid for the 381 acres is not included in this abatement.

Last year, Goliad County lost approximately $136 Million in total assessed valuation. This year, the projected loss has yet to be determined, but preliminary values estimate the loss in assessed values at $125 Million. A $125 Million loss at the current tax rate will mean an approximate $783,000 loss in tax revenue to the county.

Where will the tax cuts come from to absorb this $783,000 in loss revenue? The four commissioners and county judge could donate their entire annual combined salaries of $260,400 to help cover the loss in tax revenues. If this tax abatement is approved, the applications for tax abatements are just beginning.